http://www.islamonline.org/English/News/2006-01/03/article03.shtml
Pilgrims arriving in Saudi Arabia by sea
Some 1.3 million Muslims have arrived in Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj as the government completed all preparations for hajj, which is due to kick off for five days as of Sunday, January 8.
According to Saudi Arabia’s Passport Department Director General Maj. Gen. Salem Al-Belaihed, 1,269,209 pilgrims came from abroad by Sunday night, Saudi English-language daily Arab News reported Tuesday, January 3.
Around 1.5 million foreign pilgrims are expected to arrive in the holy city of Makkah from all over the world when the five-day ritual begins, Reuters reported.
Around a million Saudi-based pilgrims were licensed to take part in the hajj. Up to 300,000 more are expected to slip into Makkah without permits, taking the number of total pilgrims to over 2.5 million.